Portable compressor plant



pmaN... 27,1928. A 1,693,183 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GERHARD BOTHMANN, F HERNE, GERMANY.

PORTABLE COMPRESSOR PLANT. i Application lped April 9, 1928, Serial No. 268,555, and in Germany July 8, 19264 The object of my present invention is to known to provideautomobiles and other powproduce a portable compressor-plant for the er-vehicles with an auxiliary compressor in production of compressed air similar to those order to obtain the final ormaximum compresnow employed for the construction of roads, sion of the combustion-air and thereby let the 5 railway-tunnels7 galleries of mines and simifully compressed air passthrough a cooler arlar structural work. My improved compresranged at the front-end of the vehicle besor-plant is more especially designated for neath the water-cooler of the motor in such a the operation of concrete-breakers, rockmanner that the cooling of the water is acdrills and the like. Compressor-plants of this complished by the draft of the air created 05 0 type as a rule consist of a twoor of a fourduring the forward motion of the onward wheeled carriage or truck, on which the comspeeding vehicle. f pressor is arranged and driven by an internal It is expedient to arrange the air-cooler in combustion-englne orv by an electric motor. the air-currcnt created by the ventilator in Hitherto such portable plants for the profront of and adjacent to the water-cooler of l5 duction 'of compressed air were not equipped the motor and to dimension it with a view to Witha particular device for cooling the newly approximately cover the front of the watercompressed and highly heated air for which cooler. In this way it 'is possible to obtain reason the rubber-hose employed tov convey it the further advantage that the novel airto a working tool or machineis very injuriouscooler protects thewater-cooler of the motor ly influenced and the lubricating oil carried against mechanical damages.

away and held in suspension by said corn- In the accompanying drawing an embodipressed air can not be completely removed. ment of my present invention is shown by In stationary compressor-plants these disadway of example, wherein vantages do not appear and for this very rea- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a partially 80 5 son an especial cooling of t-he air is not rediagrammatically represented portable comquired, sinceit is posslble to employ a storpressor-plant in accordance with my present age tank of such large dimensions that on invention, and

this account alone a sucient cooling of, the y Figure 2 is a front elevation of said plant. compressed air is obtained before it is used; Upon the carriage l, adapted to be moved whereas in portable compressor-plants a coolalong by animal power in the direction of the ing of the compressed air worth mentioning arrow 1 an air-compressor 2 is arranged and is impossible on account of the small dimenoperated by an internal combustion-engine 3 sions of the air storage-tank permitted by the only diagrammatically indicated like the restricted s ace at disposal 1n such cases.v compressor 2. This internal combustion-en- 90 35 In accor ance with my present 'invention gine may, of course, be replaced by an electric the highly heated compressed air is -fully motor when electric power is obtainable. In cooled on its way from the compressor to the front of the water-cooler 4, which furnishes storage-tank and to this end it is passed the cooling Water to the compressor 2 and to through anair-cooler arranged in the curthe motor or combustion-engineBby means of 40 Arent of air created by the ventilator provided a pipe 5 provided with stop-cocks 5, as indifor the operation of the water-cooler which cated in Figure 1, an air-cooler C is arranged supplies the necessary cooling water to the in the current of air created by a ventilator cylinder of the motor or tothe cylinder of or fan 6 and forced by the latter through said the compressor, or to both, in order to not only water-cooler. To this air-cooler the a1r com- 100 45 obtain the cooling of the compressed air but pressed in the compressor 2 and introduced simultaneously therewith the condensation by the latter in a highly heated condition inand separation of the vapours of the lubricatto the head or helmet 7 of the compressor, is ing-oil held in suspension therein. directed by a pipe 8 attached by a flanged Although it is known to employ in comconnection 9 to the bottom pipe 10 of said 105 presser-plants two coolers arranged one beair-cooler. This pipe is subdivided by an inhind the other in the air current of a ventilatermediate wall 11 whereby an inlet division tor, this arrangement simply represents a 12 and an outlet division 13 are formed of division of a primar cooler originally inwhich the former is connected with a contended to provide on the one hand the motordensate-collector 14 and the latter withy a 11o cylinder and on the other hand the compressimilar condensate-collector 15. Upon the` sorcylinder with cooling-water. It is also condensate-collector 14 a capped ascensionpipe 16 is arranged and connected by means of a plurality of horizontally arranged intermediate pipes 17 with a correspondingly shaped descension-pipe 18 carried by the condensate-collector l5. By the arrangement of pipes indicated above a comparatively flat structure of approximately the same area as the front of said Water-cooler is obtained. This structure may be built up ott castings or lproduced in any other suitable Way.

After the compressed air has passed from the compressor helmet 7 through the pipe 8 and the several partsoi` the air-cooler C to the outlet division 13 it has lost its heat under the action of the air-current forced by 'the ventilator through the Water-cooler 4 and consecutively utilized `for cooling the tubular elements of the upper part of the aircooler C. lVheii the cooled compressed air has reached the outlet-division 13 it passes through a branch-pipe 19 into a storage-tank 20 of cylindrical shape, as indicated in Figure 1. This tank is provided With a cock 21 y which controls a nozzle 22 of the usual shape for the attachment of a rubber hose or, a flexible pipe (not shown) by means of which vthe cooled compressed air is conveyed to a suitable tool. Since the action of the air current created by the ventilator is very effective a second and very important advantage is simultaneo-usly obtained thereby which consists in the condensation of the vapoursl of the lubricating-oil contained and carried along by the compressed air When introduced into the air-cooler C. The condensateof the condensated vapours flows into the condensate-collectors 14 and 15 and is removed therefrom by the aid of pet-cocks 23. To regain the lubricating oil from the compressed air in this manner is more productive and more easily accomplished than by purely mechanical means. Besides this the novel air-cooler C offers by means of the arrangement of its pipes a very effective protection against mechanical damages to the Water-cooler 4 arranged just behind it.

y1. A portable compressor-plant comprising an air-compressor, a motor for operating said air-compressor, a Water-cooler, a ventilator for creating a current of air for cooling the contents of said Water-cooler, an aircooler arranged in the current of air created by said ventilator, means for leading the heated compressed air from said air-compressor to said air-cooler destined to cool said air and condense the oil-vapours suspended therein, and a storage-tank for the cooled compressed air.

v 2. A portable compressor-plant comprising, an air-compressor, an internal combustion-.engine for operating said air-compressor, a Water-cooler, a Ventilator for creating a current of air adapted to cool the contents of said water-cooler, an air-cooler arranged in said current of air and mounted in front of said Water-cooler; a tubular channel for leading the heated compressed air from said air-compressor to said air-cooler destined to cool said air, condense the oil-vapours suspended therein and deposit the resulting condensate; and a storage-tank for the cooled and purified compressed air.

3. A portable compressor-plant comprising, an air-compressor, a motor for operating said air-compressor, a Water-cooler, a ventilator for creating a current of air adapted to coo-l the contents of said Watercooler, an air-cooler arranged in said current of air in advance of said Water-cooler and composed of tubular elements united to form a flat structure of approximately the same area as the front of said Water-cooler, condensatecollectors arranged at the lower end of said air-cooler, tubular means for transferring the heated compressed air from said air-cornpresser to said air-cooler destined to cool said air, condense simultaneously therewith the oil-vapours suspended in it and retain the condensate by said collectors, and a storagetank for the cooled and puried compressed air.

4. A portable compressor-plant comprising an air-compressor, a motor for operating said air-compressor, a Water-cooler, a ventilator for creating a current of air adapted to cool the contents of said Water-cooler; an aircooler arranged in said current of air in front of said Water-cooler and composed of a vertical ascension-pipe, a vertical descensionpipe, a plurality of intermediate pipes connected with said vertical pipes to form a flat structure of an areal extent approximately equa-lling that of the front of said Water-cooler, condensate-collectors carried by said Vertical pipes, a bottom-pipe arranged between said condensate-collectors and provided with a division-Wall adapted to direct the loW of air through said air-cooler; means for introducing the heated compressed air into said bottom-pipe at one side of said division-Wall whence it passes through said air-cooler to the other side of said division-Wall, and a storagetank for the cooled'and purified compressed air.

5. A portable plant for producing compressed air comprising a compressor; an internal combustion engine for driving said compressor; means for cooling said internal combustion engine including a fan; a storage tank for the compressed air; and an air cooler for cooling the compressed air before it enters the tank, said cooler cooperating with the fan so that the air driven by the fan will cool the compressedV air in the cooler.

6. A portable plant for producing com pressed air comprising a Water-cooled compressor; a Water-cooled internal combustion engine; a radiator for the Water of the com- Pressor and .the .internal Combustion engine;

l a fan for cooling the water in the radiator;

u storage tank for the compressed air; and an Y a1r cooler arranged adjacent the radiator for cooling the compressed' air before it enters the tank, the compressed air in the cooler being cooled by the a-ir drawn by the fan throu h the radiator.

7. portable plant for producing compressed air comprising a compressoman internal combustion engine for driving said compressor; means for cooling said internal combustion engine including a fan; and an air cooler for coolingthe compressed air, said cooler cooperating the air driven by pressed air in the the fan will cool the comcooler.

with said means with said fan so that- 8. A portable plant for producing coniair comprising a compressor; an 1ncombustion engine for driving said com ressor; means for coolinc' said internal com ustion en 'ne; and a coo er for cooling the compresse air, said cooler cooperatin" to'also cool the compresse air.

9. A portable pressed air comprising a compressor; means for cooling said compressor; and' a cooler for cooling the compressed air, said cooler cooperating with said means to also cool thc compressed air. In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

GERHARD ROTHMANN.

plant for producing com- 

